Marketing control involves setting performance standards and adjusting plans to achieve goals. Methods include market research, financial analysis, and customer feedback. Measuring sales and cash flow can determine the need for corrective action, such as price changes or a complete marketing campaign overhaul.
Marketing control refers to the process by which a company manipulates its marketing plans to achieve its original goals. This process is accomplished by setting performance standards that will ideally be achieved at each stage of a marketing campaign. If these standards are not met, corrective action must be taken. There are many methods of gaining marketing control, which may include, but are not limited to, market research, analysis of financial indicators such as market share, sales and cash flow, and customer relationship insights gleaned from customer feedback and service levels.
Few effective marketing campaigns are achieved through random actions. Successful marketing is generally achieved through a general process where many variations are possible. The basic design involves coming up with goals that the campaign is designed to achieve, and then coming up with plans and strategies that are designed to achieve those goals. If those plans start to fall short of the desired standard, they need to be adjusted to get the campaign pointing in the right direction again. Marketing auditing involves analyzing where the original plans fall short and taking steps to correct those problems.
As the desired and actual effect of the campaign begin to diverge, strategies must be put in place to correct the situation. Problems must be identified before any action can be taken, to avoid further damage. Once the problems have been identified, the proper method of marketing control can be exercised in an effort to achieve the desired objectives.
Research is the most obvious tool for identifying how the marketing campaign is progressing. This can be done through customer surveys or product testing. Focus groups are another popular way to ascertain if the product is reaching the desired target audience or if marketing techniques are getting the desired message across.
Measurable as sales reports or cash flow totals are a concrete way to determine what type of marketing audit needs to be performed. Marketers can use these numbers to figure out if they’re getting the desired return on their marketing investment. If not, corrective actions must be taken. This can take the form of price changes to the product or service in an attempt to increase sales or profit, further promotional efforts to increase the visibility of the product or service or, if drastic action is needed, a complete overhaul of the marketing campaign.
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